cannabisnews.com: The Medical Marijuana Debate: Con
The Medical Marijuana Debate: Con
Posted by CN Staff on July 15, 2007 at 20:18:24 PT
By John Cooke
Source: Denver Post
Colorado -- In 2000, Colorado voters approved Article XVIII of the Colorado Constitution legalizing medical marijuana. For more than six years, Coloradans and law enforcement have suffered the consequences of an ill-conceived and confusing referendum. Unfortunately, the ballot measure passed because the proponents of medical marijuana played upon people's compassions and emotions and not scientific medical research.
It's important to clarify the distinction between "smoked marijuana" and pharmaceutical THC. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, has shown the potential to alleviate certain medical conditions. However, there are no scientific studies that support the use of smoked marijuana for medical treatment in the U.S. Proponents of medical marijuana are reluctant to admit that THC is readily available in prescription form, including Marinol, which is safer and more effective than smoked marijuana. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine, a component of the National Academy of Sciences, released a landmark study reviewing the possible medical properties of marijuana. The proponents of medical marijuana often cite this study as a basis for legalization. The study found a potential therapeutic benefit for THC and recognized the need for additional study on its medical uses. What the proponents of medical marijuana don't tell you is that the IOM concluded "there is little future in smoked marijuana as a medically approved medication." If someone were involved in a serious accident and admitted to the hospital, a competent physician would prescribe morphine for the pain. Following the logic of medical marijuana proponents, rather than prescribing morphine the physician would instead have the victim smoke opium. Lacking any proven medical benefit to smoking marijuana, what is the true purpose of this amendment? The proponents of medical marijuana disingenuously use the tragic stories of truly ill people to advance the proponents' real motive of legalizing marijuana. In 2000, The New York Times interviewed Ethan Nadelmann, director of the Lindesmith Center, an organization dedicated to the legalization of drugs. Responding to criticism that the medical marijuana issue is a trojan horse for drug legalization, Nadelmann stated, "Will it help lead toward marijuana legalization? ... I hope so." Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_6362423Source: Denver Post (CO)Author: John CookePublished: July 12, 2007 Copyright: 2007 The Denver Post CorpWebsite: http://www.denverpost.com/Contact: openforum denverpost.com CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #16 posted by whig on July 17, 2007 at 18:50:42 PT
liquid cannabis
A liquid extract can be produced and standardized for dosimetry, this is the idea behind Sativex as well.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #15 posted by whig on July 17, 2007 at 18:44:43 PT
cannabliss
Just use a vaporizer.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #14 posted by cannabliss on July 17, 2007 at 09:01:00 PT
Inhalers?
I have often wondered if inhalers would be useful for those who either had trouble with pills or wanted a better titration of dose. Is it theoretically possible to have a liquid cannabis extract that is aerosolized and then inhaled into the lungs, just as asthma medication is today?I assume no research has been done on this for obvious reasons, and probably won't be for a long time, but it seems possible, unless there is something I'm overlooking.Anyone have any thoughts on this one way or the other?
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #13 posted by dongenero on July 17, 2007 at 08:07:41 PT
greenfox
Great info, thanks
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by greenfox on July 17, 2007 at 04:43:29 PT
Ah, the marinol arguement....
My EX was prescribed marinol- 10 of those juicy, orange bubble-pops a day and let me tell you what- YEAH they ARE effective: IF you can keep `em down for TWO HOURS (the approx. time it takes for those things to go INTO your stomache and POP like zits..) and even THEN the only relief you get is a semi-pharmicutial high that resembles eating a GOO ball; for many (most) people, it is OVERWHELMINGLY strong and people cannot function on it. SMOKED marijuana offers the immediacy of the drug and allows you to gauge your reactions as such.FURTHERMORE it should be noted that "marinol" ONLY has (synthesized) THC in it; it lacks a small MYRIAD of the "other" ingredients in it (CBD, CBN, CBDB, CDBN, CBBD, CBND, CB delta-thc, THA, THHC, TCBCA, TCCA, TCANA, ETC, ETC, AD. INFIN!!) ALL IN ALL there are over TWO HUNDRED alkoloids present in smoked marijuana; in MARINOL there is but ONE and it's synthesized and it has to be kept REFRIDGERATED for it to work (I SH*T you not!) therefore... going on vacation in the woods? forget about bringing your marinol, it will go bad by the second day...these are all facts based on my ex-f-gf's script' to this evil stuff. And make no mistake, it IS evil- without the other cannabinoids to BALLANCE it, it's TOO strong, takes TOO long, and it's TOO unstable (as far as "pillz" go), oh, yeah, I almost forgot... WITH insurence it was still close to five dollars a pill. WITHOUT it you're looking at anywhere from $8-$15.00 a PILL. No joke.It is what it is, folks....-gf
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by Hope on July 16, 2007 at 13:39:34 PT
Yes, FoM.
I thought that was well said, too.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #10 posted by Hope on July 16, 2007 at 13:38:50 PT
God knows
that I want this prohibition ended. I want legalization, and a certain amount of regulation in sales, and taxes....before someone else is killed or persecuted or pushed to suicide because of this prohibition.Not another child torn from his parent by the drug war. Not another job lost. Not one more car or home or savings seized. Not another case filed. Not another gangland shooting. Not another drug raid. Not one more loss. Not one more death. End it now.I know it will happen, eventually. I just hate to lose even one more life. I hate to have one more person frightened and humiliated or shackled in the name of the insane and puritanical drug prohibition inquisition.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by FoM on July 16, 2007 at 13:07:31 PT
Hope
I liked the comments but I really liked nubs11's comment. I agree with that totally.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by Hope on July 16, 2007 at 12:32:46 PT
The forum for this article is interesting.
http://neighbors.denverpost.com/viewtopic.php?t=6362423
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by Hope on July 16, 2007 at 10:12:18 PT
It's really sad, that apparently,
he cannot believe the truth when he hears it. He's been trained, I guess, to not believe people.I guess, if he's narced, that he's been trained to lie and deceive people....and he has become deluded into thinking that everyone else is lying and deceiving, too.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by user123 on July 16, 2007 at 09:46:27 PT:
What's wrong w/50% of this Country?
"The proponents of medical marijuana disingenuously use the tragic stories of truly ill people to advance the proponents' real motive of legalizing marijuana." Yep, that's right dumba**, truly sick people constantly lie that marijuana works, just so total strangers that they don't know, can one day smoke it legally. This kind of "I've never had to use it, so it must not work" attitude falls into so many categories that it's pathetic. Just wait till John Cooke or a loved one gets cancer & then suddenly "Well, I guess it's ok if I/we use it, but the rest of you can go f**k yourselves."
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by LaGuardia on July 16, 2007 at 07:57:42 PT
Sheriff Cooke Gets an "F"
The Sheriff's claim that "THC [is] the active ingredient in marijuana" is wrong. THC is one among several psychoactive compounds in marijuana with medical efficacy, including cannabidol. THC consumed without cannabidol is not nearly as medically effective, and causes greater mental impairment, such as hallucinations, because cannabidol modulates THC's effect on the mind. In addition, orally consumed THC (i.e. swallowed or eaten, not smoked or vaporized) is converted from delta-9 THC to 11-hydroxy THC by the liver which also makes it more psychoactive and likely to cause hallucinations. See Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D. & John P. Morgan, M.D., "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts"(1997).The Sheriff's claim that Marinol is "more effective than smoked marijuana" is also wrong. The "Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes" just published a study finding that it takes EIGHT TIMES the recommended daily dose of Marinol to equal the efficacy of low-grade marijuana. Plus, as stated above, Marinol is more likely to cause mental impairment and hallucinations because it is orally consumed and does not contain cannabidol.Just another prohibitionist drug warrior repeating the same blatant misinformation. At least he did not say that marijuana increases the risk of lung cancer since the studies show that smoked marijuana actually slightly decreases the chances of lung cancer, which was a surprise to virtually everyone, including me, even though a 1974 published study (most copies of which have been destroyed due to a Reagan-era federal order, although UC-Davis still has it) suggested that THC attacks and destroys tumors. That said, most anti-medical marijuana articles still claim that smoked marijuana causes lung cancer. SCIENCE WILL PREVAIL. What we really need to do is stop DEA and NIDA's administrative obstruction that prevents objective marijuana use studies, even those that are FDA-approved, from receiving marijuana with which to conduct their research.
JAIDS Marijuana-Marinol Study Abstract
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by OverwhelmSam on July 16, 2007 at 06:25:16 PT
"CON"
What an appropriate description of this article.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by Dankhank on July 15, 2007 at 22:00:21 PT
smokin'
was always the best way to titrate the dose.Everyone does it ...Thanks, man, I've had enough ...now we have vaporization, so all who discuss medical Cannabis should be prepared to speak of vaporization in the same sentence with smoking.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by goblet on July 15, 2007 at 21:18:51 PT:
ignorant or lie
Those who suggest that combustion is the only path to cannsumption are either ignorant or they are being intentionally misleading.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by The GCW on July 15, 2007 at 20:58:16 PT
John Cooke sounds sick.
John Cooke sounds sick. The quote, "there are no scientific studies that support the use of smoked marijuana for medical treatment in the U.S."is false. -0-
John Cooke is a Weld County sheriff (SWATSTIKA) based in Greeley. 'Nough said; a cop trying to be the doctor.Perhaps He would also like to pick the music citizens listen to.-0-Greely, of Weld County voted against Amendment 44, 66% to 34%.http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/CO/I/04/county.002.html-0-Greely, of Weld County voted against Amendment 20, 55.57% to 44.43%.http://www.co.weld.co.us/election-results/2000%20general%20election%20results.htm -0-Friends be careful. Sheriff John Cooke may be dangerous and harmful if He approaches family members. Take precautions.-0-Where I live We consider people where Cooke lives as:FLATlanders.I never thought about it before but I wonder if He thinks the world is FLAT.
[ Post Comment ]
Post Comment